The dark and gloomy Night, who was the offspring of giants, married the asa-son Delling (day-break), and they became the parents of Day, who was light and fair like his father. Odin gave Night and Day two horses and two cars, and set them up in the heavens, that they might drive successive!}' one after the other, each in twenty-four hours' time, round the world. Night rides first with her steed Kimfaxe (rime-mane), that every morning, as he ends his course, bedews the earth with the foam of his bit. Day follows after with his steed Skinfaxe (shining-mane), and all the sky and earth glisten from the light of his mane.
The asas formed the sun and moon of sparks from Muspelheim, and made the children of Mundilfare drive the chariots of these two grand luminaries athwart the sky. Tlie daughter, whose name is Sol (sun), drives the
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chariot of the sun ; and the son, whose name is IMane (moon), drives tlie chariot of the moon. Hence it is that sun is feminine and moon masculine in the North- European languages. Sol and Mane speed away very rapidly, for two giants, the one named Skol and the otiier Hate, both disguised as wolves, pursue them for the purpose of devouring them ; and these giants will at length overtake the sun and moon, and accomplish their greedy purpose.
Dwarfs were bred in the mould of the earth, just as worms in a dead body, or, in the language of the EJda, they were quickened as maggots in the flesh of Ymer. By the command of the gods, they got the form and un- derstanding of men ; but their abode was in the earth and in the rocks. Four dwarfs — Austre (East), Vestre (West). Nordre (Xorth), and Sudre (South) — were ap- pointed by the gods to bear up the sky. Of the race of dwarfs, Modsogncr and Durin are the chief ones.
In the northern extremity of the heavens sits the giant Hrajsvelger (corpse-swallower), in the guise of an eagle. The strokes of his wings produce the winds and storms.
There were not yet any human beings upon the earth : when the sons of Bor — Odin, Hoener (Vile), and Lodcr (Ve) — were walking along the sea-beach, they found two trees, and made of them the first human pair, man and woman. Odin gave them life and spirit; Hoener endowed them with reason and the power of motion ; and Loder gave them blood, hearing, vision, and a fair complexion. The man i hey called Ask (ash), and the woman Embla (elm). The newly created pair received from the gods Midgard as their abode, and from Ask and Embla are descended the whole human family.
The gods dwell in Asgard. In its midst are the plains of Ida (Idavolls), the assembling -place of the gods, and Odin's high-seat, Hlidskjalf, wdience he looks out upon all the worlds. But above the heaven of the asas are still higher heavens, and in the highest of these stands the imperishable gold-roofed hall Gimle, Avhich is brighter than the sun.
The gods to whom divine honors must be rendered are twelve in number, and their names are Odin, Thor, Balder, Ty, Brage, Heimdal, Hod, Vidar, Vale, Ull, For- sete, Loke. In this list Njord and Frey are not men- tioned, for they originally belonged to another class of gods called vans, or sea-gods, and were received among the asas by virtue of a treaty in which Njord was given as a hostage, and Frey is his son.
Of goddesses, we tind the number twenty-six, and Vingolf is their hall. Some of the more prominent ones are Frigg, Freyja (a vana goddess, a daughter of Njord), Sif, Nanna, Idun, Saga and Sigyn.
Odin's hall is the great Walhalla ; spears support its ceiling; it is roofed with shields, and coats of mail adorn its benches. Thither and to Vingolf Odin invites all men wounded by arms or fallen in battle. For this reason he is called Valfather (father of the slain), and his invited guests are called einherjes. The latter are waited upon by valkyries (maids of slaughter).
The dweUing of Tiior is Thrudvang, or Thrudheim. His hall is the immense Bilskiruer. Ull, Thor's son, lives in Ydal. Baldur lives in Breidablik, where noth- ing impure is found. Njord dwells in Noatun, by the sea. Heimdal inhabits Himinbjorg, which stands where the bridge Bifrost approaches heaven. Forsete has Glit- ner for his dwelling, whose roof of silver rests on columns of gold. The chief goddess, Frigg, wife of Odin, has her dwelling-place in Fensal; and Freyja, the goddess of love, dwells in Folkvang, and her hall is Sesrymner. Saga dwells in the great Sokvabek, under the cool waves; there she drinks with Odin every day from golden vessals.
The Norse mythology presents nine worlds : ]\Iuspel- heim, Asaheim, Ljosalfaheim, Vanaheim, INIannaheim, Jotunheim, Svartalfaheim, Helheim, and Niflheim. The highest is Muspelhcim (the fire world), the realm of
Surt, and in its highest regions Gimle is situated. The lowest is Niflheim (the mist w'orld), the realm of cold and darkness, and in its midst is the fountain Hver- gelmer, where the dragon Nidhogg dwells. Between the two is Mannaheim (the home of man) or Midgard, the round disk of the earth, surrounded by the great ocean. Ask and Embla got this for a dwelling-place. Far above Mannaheim is Asaheim (the world of the gods), forming a vault above the earth. Here we find Idavolls and Hlidskjalf. Beyond the ocean is Jotun- heim (the world of giants). This Avorld is separated from Asaheim by the river Ifing, which never freezes over. Nearest above the earth is Ljosalfaheim (the world of the light elves), and between it and Asaheim is Vanaheim (the home of the vans, or sea -deities). Proceeding downward from the earth, we come first to Svartalfaheim (world of the dark elves) ; next to Hel- heim (the world of the dead, bell) ; and finally, as before stated, to Niflheim. From Mannaheim to Helheim the road leads down by the north through Jotunheim over the stream Gjoll, the bridge over which river (the GjoU bridge) is roofed with shining gold.